UR provost to become president at University of Redlands

The University of Rochester’s provost is leaving to become president of the University of Redlands in California, UR officials announced.

Ralph Kuncl, who for the past five years has served as provost and executive vice president at UR, is to leave Aug. 15. The university will release a statement on his successor within the next few weeks, said Joel Seligman, UR president.

As provost, Kuncl led or directed initiatives in high-performance computing, corporate research collaborations, multidisciplinary initiatives, diversity and online education, UR officials said. He also was responsible for review of university deans, the university library, faculty promotion and tenure decisions, sustainability and faculty-driven learning assessment initiatives.

Kuncl created and led the annual Celebration of the Book, which brings faculty authors from across the university together to celebrate and build community around their creative authorship in the arts and sciences, UR officials noted. He was instrumental in diversity efforts, establishing an annual diversity conference, and created an initiative to fund faculty collaborations that has awarded more than $1 million in its first four years.

"Ralph Kuncl has been a terrific provost here at Rochester, and I’m confident that he will be an outstanding president at the University of Redlands," said Edmund Hajim, chairman of UR’s board of trustees. "We have benefited from Ralph’s deep knowledge of science and commitment to scholarship in a wide variety of fields, his keen intelligence and his wonderful sense of humor."

Kuncl has long been ready to become a university president, Seligman added, and will be a good fit at University of Redlands.

“He has provided outstanding academic leadership by encouraging top-quality appointments and leadership in research, especially in our partnership with IBM and establishment of the Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation,” Seligman said

Kuncl said the challenges facing the nation require more educated and engaged citizens, making universities more vital and necessary than ever. He was fortunate to see firsthand the value of a liberal arts and sciences education, and is looking forward to taking over at University of Redlands, Kuncl added.

“Redlands is a special place that blends high ethical standards, complete engagement with its region, creativity in music and the arts, innovation in education and business and a commitment to inclusiveness,” Kuncl said. “These values, which also have inspired us at Rochester, have set the University of Redlands on a clear trajectory upward.”